Low-labor process speeds up prototyping and production of
polycarbonate parts

MINNEAPOLIS — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 28, 2011 —
(NASDAQ:
SSYS)
Stratasys
says it will expand its WaterWorks soluble support material to be
compatible with its polycarbonate build material (PC-10) for Fortus 3D
Production Systems.

This shaver is shown before and after soluble support material was dissolved. (Photo: Stratasys)

Previously, WaterWorks soluble support material was available
exclusively for the company’s ABS-based material formulations.

The soluble support material – SR-100 – allows automated, hands-free
removal, resulting in more efficient prototype and part production.
SR-100 soluble support material will also enable a finer layer
thickness. By combining PC-10 build material with SR-100, users can now
produce parts in 0.005 in. (0.127mm) layers, for finer feature detail
and smoother surface finish. This layer thickness setting was previously
unavailable for PC-10.

Beta test user Joe Gibbs Racing previously used PC-ABS because it was
the strongest material that could be coupled with soluble supports.
Combining the SR-100 soluble support structure with polycarbonate build
material allows JGR to use the more robust polycarbonate. This enables
JGR to use its Fortus machine for more applications, giving it a faster
return on investment.

JGR Design Engineer Brian Levy says he likes the superior mechanical
properties of polycarbonate. The team makes a polycarbonate filter
component with the FDM process, using the PC-100 soluble supports.

“The soluble material is more efficient to remove than the old
break-away supports, so we’re now using polycarbonate regularly,” Levy
says. “All of our cars have the PC filter component, and they use them
every week.”

The soluble support material eliminates the process of manual removal
with hand tools. The dissolved support material is washed away in a
solution of heated-water and cleaning agent. It can take as little as
30-120 minutes to dissolve an SR-100 support structure in an agitation
or ultrasonic tank.

The SR-100 soluble support material will be available for the Fortus
360mc, Fortus 400mc, Fortus 900mc, Fortus eV and Fortus eT systems.
SR-100 is expected to ship in Q1 2012.

Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, is a maker of additive-manufacturing
machines for prototyping and producing plastic parts. The company
markets under the brands uPrint and Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus
Production 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, a
digital-manufacturing service for prototypes and production parts.
Stratasys manufactures 3D printers for Hewlett Packard, which it sells
under the brand Designjet3D. In 2011 Stratasys acquired 3D printer maker
Solidscape Inc. According to Wohlers Report 2011, Stratasys had a 41
percent market share in 2010, and has been the unit market leader for
the ninth consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the Fused
Deposition Modeling (FDM®) process. The process creates
functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD
program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company
holds more than 285 granted or pending additive-manufacturing patents
globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense,
automotive, medical, business and industrial equipment, education,
architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at:
www.stratasys.com

All statements herein that are not historical facts or that include such
words as "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "vision,"
"could," "potential," "planning", "intends", "desires", "assume" or
"believes" or similar words constitute forward-looking statements
covered by the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information
herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These include
statements regarding projected revenue and income in future quarters;
the size of the 3D printing market; our objectives for the marketing and
sale of our Dimension(R) and uPrint(R) 3D
Printers; our support removal systems; and our Fortus(R) 3D
Production Systems, particularly for use in direct digital manufacturing
(DDM); the demand for our proprietary consumables; the expansion of our
paid parts service; and our beliefs with respect to the growth in the
demand for our products. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect
our business include our ability to penetrate the 3D printing market;
the success of our distribution agreement with HP; our ability to
achieve the growth rates experienced in preceding quarters; our ability
to introduce, produce and market consumable materials, and the market
acceptance of these materials; the impact of competitive products and
pricing; our timely development of new products and materials and market
acceptance of those products and materials; the success of our recent
R&D initiative to expand the DDM capabilities of our core FDM
technology; and the success of our RedEyeOnDemand <